Former Atlanta Falcons linebacker Prince Shembo knew what he'd done was bad, not just because it was an inherently bad thing to have done, but because he knew that once the police found out, he could be in serious trouble.
Shembo, who was immediately released by the Falcons in the wake of news that he had been involved in the death of his girlfriend's dog, a Yorkshire terrier named Dior, was reportedly so concerned over facing charges stemming from the incident that he considered fleeing the country.
"Former Atlanta Falcons linebacker Prince Shembo admitted to kicking his girlfriend's dog more than once and considered fleeing the country after its death, according to an incident report obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution," Tyler Estep of AJC.com reports.
The 23-year-old Shembo, a fourth-round pick by the Falcons in the 2014 NFL Draft, turned himself in on Friday after being charged with aggravated cruelty to animals by Gwinnett County police. Since the charges were filed, Shembo and his attorney Jerry Froelich have maintained that the former NFLer was reacting to a bite from the dog and only kicked it once, but per the report obtained by the Journal-Constitution, Shembo's then girlfriend, Denicia Williams, relayed a very different sequence of events.
Williams reportedly told police that Shembo said "no" when she asked if he only kicked the animal once.
Williams told Shembo she could no longer see him after the incident and Shembo stated that he was giving consideration to leaving the country because he "knows how much time he would in prison for animal cruelty," per Estep.
The injuries the dog suffered were major.
"According to police, Dior had significant internal injuries, including: a fractured rib, fractured liver, abdominal hemorrhage, thoracic hemorrhage, extensive bruising and hemorrhage in the muscles in her front leg and shoulders, head trauma, hemorrhage and edema in lungs, hemorrhage between the esophagus and trachea, and hemorrhage in the left eye with internal injuries."
Per the report, the dog died at Duluth Animal Hospital after being administered a "shot to try to help" by a veterinarian.
Froelich maintains that the cause of death for the animal is unknown.
"The vet gave it a shot," Froelich said, via Estep. "And then the dog died. So I don't know what caused the dog's death."
This is not the first criminal case which has involved Shembo - while at Notre Dame he was investigated for allegedly sexually assaulting a Saint Mary's College student in his dorm room. The woman killed herself by overdosing on anti-depressant medication 10 days later.
Shembo was never charged.
